Skyview students learning to rehabilitate wetlands, save environment

JIM RYDBOM/Windsor Now!
Skyview Elementary School second-grader Emma Maddocks, 8, writes down information while next to the school's wetlands last week. Skyview Elementary School first- and second-graders are participating in a service learning project sponsored by the Roots & Shoots program that is part of the Jane Goodall Foundation.

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WINDSOR — First- and second-grade students at Skyview Elementary School are learning the importance of making the environment and the world they live in a better place.

The students, 44 in all, are participating in a service-learning project sponsored by the Roots & Shoots program that is a part of The Jane Goodall Foundation.

They’ll wrap up the project, which involves learning about their environment and rehabilitating the school’s wetlands, includes a field trip to the Ritchie Center on the campus of the University of Denver on May 4, where they will hear from Jane Goodall, who will reflect on her career as a conservationist and emphasize how young people can ensure a better future for the world.

The project that the students are participating in for Kendra Jacoby’s second-grade class and Roxanne Visconti’s first-grade class won’t end on May 4. Jacoby said it will be an on-going learning experience for the classes.

“I am part of a test group doing projects all over the Denver Metro Area and northern Colorado,” Jacoby said. “Our campaign will last at least through this spring, and we are hoping that it becomes a service-learning project that will last for years to come. Our objectives are to rehabilitate the wetlands that are on the east side of our school grounds, and learn more about recycling and why it’s so important for our environment.”

The project started in February and has been extensive for the students, who also write in a reflection journal about what they’re learning for a language arts experience that also ties it to the state’s standards and curriculum.

“It’s really important because when kids learn at this age they take that life lesson with them as they grow up, and they also go home and teach their parents,” Alexis Joens, outreach coordinator for Gallegos Sanitation in Fort Collins, said.